The Academy Awards honor many things in movies but not some of the most important. AP Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle make selections for their own awards 鈥� some more offbeat than others.
BEST ACTUALLY SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE: Cory Michael Smith, 鈥楳ay December鈥�
Sometimes the best truly supporting performances are the ones that will never, ever get the 鈥渁wards push,鈥� like the brilliant Cory Michael Smith as Georgie Atherton in With his subtly manic energy, sad smile and that awful bleached hair, his is that kind of undeniable presence who steals both scenes he鈥檚 in and also completely upends everything we鈥檝e come to understand so far. But this is how awards season works and something that only our awards strategist friends can justify. 鈥� L.B.
BEST HAIRSTYLE: Gwen鈥檚 upside-down ponytail, 鈥楽pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥�
There are, no doubt, more elegantly styled heads of hair among this year鈥檚 Oscar nominees. But no 'do could match the gravity-assisted beauty of the ponytail that hangs suspended in the air when Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles (Shameik Moore) sit together, clung to the underside of cornice, gazing out at an upturned New York in For a topsy-turvy, , Gwen鈥檚 upside-down ponytail points the way. 鈥� J.C.
BEST DUO ACT: Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz, 鈥楢merican Fiction鈥�
As great as the whole ensemble is in the movie is never better than when Wright and Ortiz are matched together. When meets with his agent Arthur (Ortiz), 鈥淎merican Fiction鈥� sparkles with the comic interplay of two character-actor greats. Give these guys a sitcom and I鈥檇 watch six seasons. 鈥� J.C.
BEST CAMEO: Margot Robbie, 鈥楢steroid City鈥�
Wes Anderson鈥檚 got a raw deal this year with zero nominations (maybe he鈥檒l win his first Oscar for his ). One performance in a sea of great ones that really made an impact was a true cameo that鈥檚 saved for the very end: Margot Robbie as the actor whose scene as Jason Schwartzman鈥檚 dead wife was cut for time. She gets only a few minutes, to remind her would鈥檝e-been co-star of their would鈥檝e-been lines, dressed in Elizabethan garb a balcony away. It is an emotional gut punch of the best kind, brief and perfect. 鈥� L.B.
BEST FACE: Willem Dafoe, 鈥楶oor Things鈥�
Willem Dafoe鈥檚 face is already a work of art, but turns it into a masterpiece. His scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter, whose deformities come from experiments performed on him, is like a fusion of mad scientist and wounded victim. He鈥檚 Frankenstein and Frankenstein鈥檚 monster, in one. 鈥� J.C.
BEST STUNTS: 鈥楳ission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning 鈥� Part One鈥�
It remains wild that the film academy still doesn鈥檛 recognize stunts, but we can here. isn鈥檛 the underdog in this category but that doesn鈥檛 make what they did any less impressive. The obvious 鈥渂est鈥� is the cliff jump, which most of us know by now that Tom Cruise did himself. But I鈥檓 also partial to the Rome car chase in which Cruise and Hayley Atwell try to escape capture in a creaky, vintage Fiat 500 while handcuffed together. 鈥� L.B.
BEST USE OF EARTH WIND AND FIRE鈥橲 鈥楽EPTEMBER鈥�: 鈥楻obot Dreams鈥�
鈥淪eptember鈥� has probably been heard in a hundred movies and at a billion weddings, but the best animated feature nominee uses the disco classic to perfection. In a movie that is strikingly grown-up about a relationship between a dog and robot, all of the joy and nostalgia of 鈥淪eptember鈥� has never been more moving. It sends you out of the theater humming 鈥淭he bell was ringin鈥�, oh, oh / Our souls were singin鈥�.鈥� 鈥� J.C.
MOST STYLISH: 鈥楶riscilla鈥�
This is perhaps a silly superlative to give to a movie that was easily one of the strongest adaptations of the year, taking what was essentially a young woman鈥檚 diary entries and making something evocative and profound without the use of first-person narration. The thoughtful style of helps make this point, transporting audiences into this intoxicating and dreamlike wonderland of the most beautiful clothes and glamorous settings with the biggest star of the time, and guiding us along with Pricilla to the realization that it is also a nightmare. 鈥� L.B.
BEST SCENE: The Trinity Test, 鈥極ppenheimer鈥�
I don鈥檛 love everything about but I think is a sequence that will be taught to film students for generations. It鈥檚 not just the explosion itself, which was accomplished with old-school moviemaking techniques like forced perspective (doing something small but making it seem big). It鈥檚 the rumbling tremors of the moments that follow, when Oppenheimer, after hearing that the bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima, is greeted by a flag-waving gymnasium audience. Oppenheimer鈥檚 face is horrified, reckoning with what he鈥檚 wrought. The crowd turns grotesque and ashen. A girl (played by Nolan鈥檚 daughter) shrieks. Here is the real thunder of 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� 鈥� J.C.
BEST DREAM BALLET: 'Barbie'
Last year had so much great dancing, from the sweaty club scenes in to the wedding line dance in Jeff鈥檚 silly moves in 鈥淏辞迟迟辞尘蝉,鈥� Bella Baxter鈥檚 broken doll euphoria in 鈥淧oor Things,鈥� 鈥淢3GAN鈥檚鈥� boogie and, of course, the end of But the trophy goes to Greta Gerwig鈥檚 euphoric 鈥淚鈥檓 Just Ken鈥� dream ballet, a sequence she fought to keep in that is also the best in the film. 鈥� L.B.
BEST FIGHT: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies, 鈥榊ou Hurt My Feelings鈥�
Sure, you could pick more violent encounters. But is there possibly anything more ferociously rock 鈥檈m-sock 鈥檈m than an author overhearing her husband say he doesn鈥檛 like her latest book? In Nicole Holofcener鈥檚 it鈥檚 the opening salvo in a painfully, hysterically acute examination of honesty in relationships. Not, I repeat not, a date movie. 鈥� J.C.
BEST USE OF A PREEXISTING SONG: 'Silver Joy' by Damien Jurado, 鈥楾he Holdovers鈥�
I think the original song category needs an overhaul. For years, movies have helped introduce me to songs that exist that I might have missed, that become immediate favorites because of the emotional association with a movie. Selecting the right existing song is such an art and one last year stood out over all the rest: Damien Jurado鈥檚 鈥淪ilver Joy鈥� in 鈥� L.B.
BEST HAT: Michael Fassbender鈥檚 bucket hat, 鈥楾he Killer鈥�
Meticulous movie hitmen have long worn stylish hats. Think of the fedora of the protagonist of The assassin of though, wears a bucket hat. It's just as much a silhouette, but he looks more like a dopey tourist than a stone-cold killer. That鈥檚 much the point for a movie about murder in increasingly anonymous times. 鈥� J.C.
BEST ONE-SCENE PERFORMANCE: Audra McDonald, 鈥極rigin鈥�
In much of the film鈥檚 sense of humanity comes from the rich presences of the actors who float in and out of the movie. Not just the stellar lead, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, but a number of performers 鈥� including Jon Bernthal, Emily Yancy and Nick Offerman 鈥� add to the nuance of 鈥淥rigin.鈥� That鈥檚 especially true of Audra McDonald, who turns up for just one scene that may be the most potent of the film. McDonald plays a woman named Miss Hale, and her story of how she got that name is a delicate powerhouse. 鈥� J.C.
MOST ROMANTIC: 鈥楾he Taste of Things鈥�
There are not many truly romantic films made for big audiences these days. Sure there鈥檚 the odd rom-com here and there, but sweeping, luscious, capital R romances are few and far between and rarely celebrated at awards season (yes, I鈥檓 still thinking about ). This season, that title went to which doesn鈥檛 have an ounce of cynicism, just pure love. 鈥� L.B.
BEST NFL PLAYER PERFORMANCE: Marshawn Lynch, 鈥楤ottoms鈥�
With exactly zero apologies to 鈥�80 for Brady鈥� (Jets fan here), no former footballer made more of a big-screen impression than Marshawn Lynch, the former elite running back known as 鈥淏east Mode.鈥� In Emma Seligman鈥檚 raunchy lesbian teen comedy Lynch turns up as a high school teacher and is quite funny acting opposite Rachel Sennott and The role also has poignance. Lynch has said he did it to help make up for how he handled his sister, Marreesha Sapp-Lynch, coming out in high school. 鈥� J.C.
BEST DOG NOT NAMED SNOOP: Chaplin, 鈥楩allen Leaves鈥�
Snoop, the all-seeing dog in the best picture nominee 鈥淎natomy of a Fall,鈥� has really hogged the pooch spotlight. Messi, the dog who plays Snoop, has been all over the place, including . But it鈥檚 time his reign of terror came to end. In my , a pair of loners find in a cruel and grim world: the movies, karaoke and a dog named Chaplin. The dog, named Alma in real life, is Kaurism盲ki鈥檚 own mutt, and deserves a few bones thrown her way, too. 鈥� J.C.
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Lindsey Bahr And Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
